When They Pushed Too Far

 

I reckon it is instinctive in each of us to be cautious about booster vaccination shots.  Each of us has our own unique circumstances and attitudes about protection waning, our own level of body T cells, authorities mucking up on over or under supplies, what we face in the intensity or complexity of political agendas we face and the varying level of  Delta cases occurring where we normally interact.

It can be complex, but I also take more comfort in our own immunity building ability and use of our own intelligence and common sense - can any human body keep up with being injected so often as we have been asked to?

I believe more in good ventilation outdoors, coughing or sneezing into our elbows and having good physical exercise plus nutrition, instead of getting addicted to vaccines and vaccine cross information from governments and media. 

Blog 18th Anniversary - Covid 19 Times

 

Many significant matters in our personal lives, and that of the world, seem and are at the same time put on hold, as if in a freeze-frame of photography -  as media, politicians and commercial medical providers overcrowd our attention to a virus we cannot even see.

And in the rising din, underlying panic and ever changing positions generated by various parties in this on going circus, of how to best manage this c19, it seems to me that things can just be plucked from the air and covert intentions not fully disclosed to the public.  There can be too much talk and too little meaningful action which brings results.  Politicians change their directions increasingly to serve their survival, rather than the health of their voters.  Medical bureaucrats can be under unstated pressure by the powers that employ them.  There are increased concerns in the militarisation of the public management of this Coronavirus. 

The connundrum between choosing lockdowns or vaccinations is the latest dilemna faced by governments.   Are vaccinations encouraged with creating a false positive sentiment as elections draw near?   Why has there been no progress and communication by Big Pharmas in developing a treatment for c19?   Canberra has made serious mistakes in over depending on only two types of vaccines - and looks like only going to over rely on Messenger RNa vaccines in the future. 

Several nations are beginning to stare c19 in the face, as they cannot maintain a zero tolerance approach in snuffing out c19.  Movement restriction, if continued for too long, is increasingly impractical.

Individually, each of us has to grab the proverbial bull by the horn and tame the beast .  For around 18 months, no reassuring results have been achieved by those who rule us - if this was a Board and senior executive of a listed conpany, they all would been sacked at an extraordinary General Meeting.

How I cope is to follow and implement the four principles of self preservation and personal development.

P - Presence of positive spirit and mind is always good to be conscious of and practice.

A - Agendas, good and bad, are to be discerned between the lines, exhortations and varying policies we are put up with.

I  - Intelligence, not Inoculations, is the primary tool we possess to counter this Delta spread.

N - Negativity is to be avoided, so that we can maintain our own clarity and purpose in our journey amidst distractions, deflections and devastation.

Oscar Wilde is reputedly quoted with " Suffering is nothing, when there is love."

The suffering imposed on each of us, in this challenging time, can not be accompanied with empathy, humaneness nor concern by the people and organisations we put in power to take care of us.

So I say, "Suffering is nothing, especially when we just take more care of ourselves."

And I am no Oscar Wilde.

#yongkevthoughts

To Re-Covid or Not

 

Looks like everyone has to be more mindful and cautious again.  Singapore is reportedly facing a spike in another variation of Covid infections

Face masking in close public crowds can reduce the risks, but brings into play cultural, political and emotional attitudes in many individuals I know

Many people I know have had varying concerns about significant and other lingering side effects of mRna Covid vaccinations.
We as lay
persons have been subject to varying confusion and uncertainty about Pfizer.
I tried to get Novavax and non mRna vaccinations
in 2021 and 2022 but they were not available in my side of the world.

Elderly people are always reminded of the higher chances of infection but usually they do not expose themselves to Covid risks everyday as much as the younger generations.

The cynic in me suggests that Big Pharma and its possible conspirators can be hyping up Covid risks with other less honourable aims in mind.  At the same time, governments and medical authorities in general have strangely kept mostly silent about Covid since late 2022.  The logic does not match.

The spike in international travel since 2023 has refreshed businesses, the economy and employment and we are happy for that.
What is missing is for institutions and official experts we would like to trust to make pronouncements on what is truly happening about Covid and continuing dangers.

Individuals have self managed in the cloud of uncertainty and non clarification, especially discouraging for those who have complied with authorities on Covid vaccinations and now facing  a potential situation that those vaccinations no longer provide future effective protection.

The Truth is out There - and needs to be told in this so called advanced civillisation of human societies.

#yongkevthoughts

mNra In Reflection

 The late founder of contemporary Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, insisted on 300 per cent safety and not just 100 per cent in his mindset. 

mRna tech is said to be used in early stage developing other things apart from in Covid vaccines, but the vehement  unusual support and emphasis by various powers that are around the world to utilise it and support Pfizer has not gone unnoticed. 

Inactivated vaccines like Novavax were difficult to access in Australia at the height of the Covid years from 2021 to 2022 - and still are. 

Even if one still believes in Covid vaccinations, it is so obvious how mRna types are made more accessible and continually emphasised by the Canberra Federal Government from 2021 onwards. 

Scott Morrison ex PM in Camberra also showed gusty support for Pfizer vaccine production in Melbourne. 

Pfizer has hardly been evaluated comprehensively for its performance in Covid vaccines around the world.  Before the onslaught of Covid, the track record of Pfizer and other Big Pharmas has been doubtful at best. 

Sinovax vaccines are never available in Australia, not sure because of geopolitics or due to eliminating competition for mRna based vaccines. 

Experimental vaccine developments since 2021  are not over in assessment of their side effects, efficacy and long term implications. 

All the Big Pharmas offering Covid vaccines were hastily given blanket liability exemption.   The emergency conditions enveloping the world then have been lifted in 2023, so why are not such Big Pharmas been evaluated on a rational and balanced basis? 

The sudden stop by world wide authorities, especially from late 2022 and 2023 onwards,

to push for compulsory vaccinations re Covid - and the mysterious demention of the continuing infections - are so obvious. 

So the world's population can now be said to be injected with two main variations of activated and inactivated Covid vaccines....... 

just like the crowds on any street holding Apples and Androids. 

#yongkevthoughts

The Coming Summer of Discontent

 The Mr Scrooge Predictions for the coming Antipodes summer 2022/2023. 

1.   A new wave of Covid strains is likely to cause spike in infections across greater Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane soon. Case numbers will continue to be under reported, more people can experience long Covid and we are approaching the third annual anniversary of the arrival of the now increasingly unmentionable matter. 

2.   Many eating places of varying set ups across Australia will be closed for a few weeks after Christmas. Shortage of vegetables and other fresh produce are likely to hit supermarkets and eating outlets across NSW and Victoria, as Christmas 2023 approaches, due to recent widespread flooding over many farms. 

3.  The months long continuing dispute between Nsw State Government and train workers for Greater Sydney have risks of getting worse. 

4.    Prices of daily consumption items will be going up further, like for petrol, groceries, human services, insurance premiums, utility usage and supply charges, airfares, private school fees and child care services. 

5.    Warmer and radiating dry weather can make afternoons unbearable going out in coming months, unless one is determined to have that tan and risk the health side effects. 

6.     Food, grocery and other delivery service charges will increase.  This is one example of the lack of labour supply for many sectors that rely on cheaply paid human resources to deliver the final stage of consumer interface transactions. 

7.    La Nina is forecast to hang around in the coming season - with some of the lingering uncertainty, more of the wet in some states, more heat in the west of the Australian continental island and generally more of the same like in the past 12 months. 

8.    The downstream impact of the huge battle for reliable supply of smart chips is yet to be fully played out. 

9.      Investment options for players of all funding ability sizes will change over the next 3 months, whether decision makers are on holiday or not.  The arrival of recession in the UK; the need to draw a line on the books before the festive season and the close of the year;  the staged increase in interbank rates by several central banks; the continuing rollercoaster ride of crypto currency; the changing return on bonds; the shifting attitude for small caps; the rise in exchange value of the USD; and the outlook for the Chinese economy are all still relevant in the heady mix of the cauldron. 

10.    Using airports will further embed our perceptions of their disorganisation; the lack of connect between corporate planning, purported marketing image and the actual customer experience;  the greater investment by airport operators/ owners in vehicle parking spaces rather than anything else;  of the strong need by airlines to fill up every passenger seat of every flight; and the silo effect and divide between Immigration, Airline and Customs as a passenger goes through the process before and after a flight. 

Okay, I better move on to brighter things. Lol. 

#yongkevthoughts

14 April 2022

 

I am on the cusp of a five night, four day long weekend.  Most Anglo societies have a minimum number of public holidays in a calendar year. So with the full moon on Easter Sunday, this is a special time indeed.

The seeming endless barage of rainy weather has taken a hiatus as well.  The parade of congested traffic heading down the NSW South Coast has reemerged after two years.

The further removal of restrictions on air travel has seen Melbourne and Sydney Airports swamped with long queues for most of the past week.  Still, travel is tinged with uncertainty, Covid testing, compulsory insurance and ever changing details of rules.

The economy is springing back as pent up demand and spending has manifested itself.  Yet the mostly unspoken monster at the party is still swirling around in the community, dismissed by the promise of more booster vaccinations, veiled by self testing results and
downplayed by the authorities.

This year, the arrival of Catholic and Protestant Easter has not been accompanied by more nippy evenings, with daytime temperatures still clinging to that of summer days.  Orthodox Easter in 2022 falls on the weekend before ANZAC Day in New Zealand and Australia.  April has festivals of the Hindu New Year, Thai Songkran, the Chinese Tomb Sweeping Day, the end of Cherry Blossom viewing in Japan, the Jewish Passover and the Muslim Ramadan.

So the Earth keeps on spinning. Supply chains are under stress, globalisation has faced challenges from the latest pandemic and inflation has spiked.

Polarisation in politics has increased.   Information, hype, data and truth are getting murky.  Transparency has dipped, but corruption, division and manipulation have increased.  Are there more aggressive governments?   Are human societies thriving on what separates them instead of cherishing common and shared values?

Yet the story and saga of human beings continue.  Do we see an awakening of the individual mindset grow, instead of blindly following commandments?  Do we see grassroots community and individuals organising themselves, when those who govern us take more care of their selfish interests?  Do we sense a rising level of resilience in ourselves?

#yongkevthoughts

It Has Been Too Long

 

We are coming to the second anniversary of the arrival of C19 in late January 2020.

Amazingly, the number of infections in most states of Australia have skyrocketed beyond modelling, imagination and expectation.

Cases of the latest mutated strain are also spiking in at least tens of thousands across nations which have governments embracing Omicron.

So it does all fall logically like the snow in a severe northern hemisphere winter.

Back in greater Sydney, the reporting of infections have become muddled in this new year - are they from self test kits, public testing facilities, from Omicron or from false online data input? Who knows, we are not told of useful breakdown in information anymore.

What we experience instead are more alerts about we having visited venues at the same time as confirmed infectees (through use of the QR code scanning) and that more of people we directly know are down with infections.

For about two years, we knew confidently how to get help if we got infected.  Now we are discouraged from going to the gp system or hospital network - we are strongly told by authorities to basically self manage.

It is so ironic that the main reason, for the fast opening up  to embrace the Coronavirus, is for reasons of economic continuity, political strategy and undisclosed agendas. 

Supply and human resource shortages have since in a few weeks undermined the micro economy.  Politicians are becoming more naked in their lack of ideas apart from pushing the populace for more vaccination shots. 

The lack of effective leadership has sent a multiplier effect to increase uncertainty, doubt, confusion and desperation amongst the public.  It has been reported that the public across Greater Sydney has made a voluntary lockdown upon themselves, as opposed to mandated lockdowns of the past.

It may be safer even a year or two ago compared to conditions prevailing now.

Continuing emphasis on underplanning, reacting with ever changing micro rules and not bothering with implementation roadblocks can be the ruse of  several governments today.  The public may want to be ever so compliant - but finding it increasingly difficult to do as told - and more are questioning the ridiculousness and inefficacy of it all.

I know of more friends of mine letting it loose and travelling more.  Is such mobility transient, saddled with inconvenience and only offering temporary relief?

Information and data are dished out in even more obvious selective ways.
Various significant same parties are never blamed, while the onus of responsibility is put on the shoulders of the public.  Many more so called leaders continue to spell out doom and gloom, without offering an iota of workable solution.

The same phrases and lingo are uttered by those in charge, like on cue, seemingly so well coordinated in double speak that does nothing to stop the spread of this problem.

Governments at different levels are swirling in dealing with undesired developments following the decision to embrace the disease and not bother with anything else.

Each of us are now allowed - except in Western Australia, China and certain parts of the EU - to do exactly the things we were forbidden from in 2020 and most of 2021.  There is a huge shift to dropping prevention and cuddling reaction in the mindset of people empowered to take care of us.

The Coronavirus itself never listens to the daily political briefings held in its name - and only gung ho looks for another human host to propogate, according to the science oft quoted.

It has been too long in testing our patience.

#yongkevthoughts

The Irony and The Obvious

 There is a growing irony when you live under a government that wants the public to embrace Covid.

Busibess venues are open but customers are more reluctant to use them.

Business venues are open but there are not enough stocks and staff available to viably keep them open.

We are free to travel but subject to a whole host of procedures that restrict our other freedoms.

We have minimal restrictions compared to days of lockdowns, travel permits and border closures- but we find ourselves more willing to stay home and observe what the heck is actually happening with the C and its implications.

We are told to test, when we have symptoms, but it is getting more challenging to be tested.

If the Omicron has less severity, then why are we still pushed to continue to test and get more vaccine jabs?

Governments can tell us to ride the wave over significant spikes in new mutations of C.  If we get infected, we are however told mostly to treat ourselves with painkillers - and not to bother with a medical and hospital system that increasingly cannot cope with increased demand.

If governments want us to comply with some new or changing rule, they have to ensure  the related infrastructure, supplies and personnel are sufficient to allow us to implement the requitements.

If various vaccinations for C are to be fully working, governments must not relentlessly use this option as the only option.

Governments cannot resort to redefinitions of C related parameters, without properly balancing the requirements of science, public health, the economy and mental health of society.

Withholding information or data suggests that governments have something serious to hide.

After 2 years of C, we are not as interested in daily figures of infections as in what key steps the government is taking to further reduce those figures.

The public needs more encouragement, wisdom snd truth from authorities rather than fear, blame shifting and excuses.

Prevention and proactivity is still so much better than reaction and panic.

State of a Covid Territory

 

What are the likely near future public health scenarios across Greater Sydney in the next few weeks leading to the arrival of The Lunar New Year of the Water Tiger, on Feb 1?

Already 20 pc of PCR testing are resulting in positive infections.  The NSW capacity for PCR testing is cracking up, so lower testing numbers will give skewed and underreported figures of infection.  PCR test results are taking more than 48 hours by pathology providers to inform those tested - increasing risks of those already infected to spread an already more infectious Omicron, before the test results are communicated to them.

The push by Sco Mo and Perrotett for the public to utilise RAT testing, which can be inaccurate and incorrectly applied by untrained individuals, has already run into a wall of lack of stocks to buy, rising test kit prices and inaffordability of many to buy them.

The current focus by government here on testing, significantly misses what should be done more to reduce the spread of Omicron.  The reluctance to impose a focused and broader base of measures for the public since October 2021,  can sound the death knell for any hope of an early end to the pandemic.

The only strategy practised by governments here in Australia is to push for more and earlier booster shots of the same officially unquestioned vaccinations.  The absence of more innovative approaches underlies increasing pessimism in containing significant spikes in cases of Omicron.  The Re factor of spread is hurling more than 2 across Greater Sydney.
If around 95 percent of the NSW population has been jabbed, there is obviously less room to blame the unvaccinated to account for rising infections and hospitalisations.

When more individuals across greater Sydney get infected in five figures each new day, they increasingly cannot go to work more due to physical inability, rather than complying with government policies in isolation number of days.  So much for helping the economy at the expense of everything else.

When businesses and hospitals lack staff, there is an accumulative negative effect on the capacity of medical and economic activity and expertise to perform.

In addition to resourcing and infrastructure issues, there can be a looming supply logistics inability developing that casts a shadow on the access to many things we take for granted.

Australia is not the only nation battling the complexities of Omicron, directly or on secondary impact.  There is a real competition in securing many same things in demand across the world.

Hence there is most likely a perfect storm developing in medically treating the huge increase of infectees.

Pyschologically and collectively,  there has already been a lowering of the guard and mindfulness in simple personal responsibility measures of social distancing, face masking and avoiding crowded indoor venues with poor ventilation - the first line of defence and prevention has been whittled away.

The authorities will continue their knee jerk reactive measures, with policies that show how unprepared they are, even when they have allowed whatever new mutated strains to come in freely.

At the personal level across Greater Sydney, contact tracing, QR code scanning and exposure venue identification have all been minimised.  People are asked to maintain their confidence on the unquestioned reliance solely on vaccination protection.  Even the supplies for booster vaccination appointments are getting harder to obtain across Greater Sydney, together with the availability of test kits of whatever kind.

More and more of us this past week know of personal friends who have contracted the Coronavirus, compared to Christmas 2020 and even as recently as three months ago.

So in the next few weeks, we can expect to self manage more in our own medical treatment if we get infected - all good if we only have mild symptoms.  Treatment for other ailments will continue to be sidelined as in as much for the past two years.

For those unfortunate enough to suffer more adverse symptoms with Omicron infections, we must be prepared to lower our expectations of the private hospital and public health resources to timely support us.

So I suggest each of us have an emergency response kit and plan according to the needs of your circumstances.

Here I have taken a low risk tolerance to prepare for the worst near future scenario.    Another person may prefer a higher risk tolerance and prepare for a better scenario. The choice is ours - I pray for the best outcome and prepare for the worst.

3 January 2022, 8pm AEDT.

#yongkevthoughts

A Series of Operatic Acts

 The parade of comical obsessions continues.

First it was with hotel quarantines.

Then they moved on to no singing and no dancing.

Next was a fixation with toilet paper purchases.

Ah, they then were addicted to QR code scanning.

Contact tracing became a competitive sport, with boasts of even a gold standard 

Lockdown fever was not imagined......

Not satisfied, they penalised those who were detected 5km lingering away from home.

Soon disclosure of exposure spots was deemphasised and then disappeared.

Soon, it was to have proof of being "fully vaccinated" and the drive for individuals to have booster shots as soon as possible.

Then the fad came to let go and be totally free.

They emphasised case numbers are not important as dehumanisation continued. 

Hospitals, medical staff, small businesses and frontliners were left to deal with the reality and the mess. 

With opening up, it is the opera with testing proofs, validity of test results and how timely we receive them.

Now if we do not have symptoms, we are asked to not add to the testing queues.

We shudder when they change definitions of close contacts and lower standards and periods of self-isolation for infectees, frontliners and travellers.

The Sydney NYE gala and fireworks are back again in grander fashion.

Are we missing something here?

And so this is Christmas Again

 

For two years, we have complied.

We took it on the chin, limiting ourselves to the kilometre distance pronounced by authorities.  We got used to face mask, even when we instinctively knew we did not breathe normally when wearing them.

We made our hands dehydrated so often when we were asked to daily use hand sanitiser.

People who went on the ship cruise of their life time came home to die of infections caught aboard the high seas.  Elderly people in commercially run aged care facilities -  and crowded economically challenged households - were sitting ducks as well.

So many lost their livelihoods and incomes, while those who imposed public policy on the masses continued to have their pay packages protected.

Small businesses and retail had to close, earning pittance in suburbs all over, like through takeaways.  The big commercial players in town prospered as discretionary monies were over spent on groceries, homewares and online purchases, to name a few.

Taxpayer monies are said to subsidise more of multinational companies than the battler and struggling families in this Great Southern Land.

Family members and friends were separated, at times inhumanely, when celebrities and those with political connections were given exemptions in travel bans, compulsory quarantines and not touching each other.  It was becoming clear there was one rule for the privileged - and another for the rest.

We were told repeatedly that the advice of the science was always taken, but told to us so often, it was increasingly obvious it was not.  Medical people seemed to revolt but they were then managed.

Commercial hotels are not fit purposed as medivac venues in the centre of large cities.  Alpha and Delta breached whatever protocol that was practised in reality.

Christmas 2020 was a dog's breakfast of border controls, cancelled bookings, emerging red zone hotspots, arbitrary and egoistic decision making by the powers that are - plus lots of reactive ineffective measures after the enemy came in and was allowed to romp through the ripe greenfields for infection.

Frontliners became exhausted, discouraged, uninspired and/ or infected.  Protestors were manhandled and criticised.

Most of us were not allowed to go overseas, unless you got approval from travel exemption permits made at the discretion of Canberra.

Delta arrived in mid 2021 and struck cruelly across western Sydney - and Walgett in western NSW, with its large indigenous Australian community - when given ten days of permission to roam from Bondi.

Most of us hunkered down for lockdown till early October 2021, when we were told the saviour of vaccinations would sufficiently protect us.

Delta escaped from the gold standard contact tracing city of Sydney to Melbourne and Adelaide during the winter of our discontent in the Antipodes.

It was then early December 2021.  Omicron had invaded for a few weeks now - and now most of the movement restrictions, which we complied with faithfully for such a long time, were gone.  It is claimed most of the population has been double jabbed and can rest easy and feel protected on this achievement.

Yet in the days leading to Christmas this year, there has been a significant spike of infections, especially in the very state with the most movement freedoms.  We are next asked to take booster shots of vaccinations whose viability cannot be questioned.

Then someone blinks - and we are asked to face mask, observe two metre rules at public indoor hospitality venues and QR code again - and reminded to take the onus of self responsibility going forward.  

We were told long ago now about the gold standard of contact tracing.  When that collapsed mid year 2021, exposure sites were no longer publicly listed but we were still encouraged to test and test.

When Omicron arrived, we are no longer told clearly if new daily cases are Delta or Omicron.

We are now reprimanded to not go for PCR testing if we do not have symptoms, contrary to the encouragement to do so a few months ago.  It is emerging that resources and personnel are not sufficient to handle the demands on particular days.

We are now urged to live with that thing, reminded that everyone will eventually be infected and we are to just go out to spend money for the economy.  Why were we not told this earlier, especially having been put through the wringer of severe lockdowns, negative mental health and forced physical restrictions?

Somehow there is a trail of things seemingly made up along the way, or a strong gut feel that someone somewhere every time does not have any solid idea about this matter.  Or maybe it is all playing out to a predetermined script in some playbook only held and known by a few.

My jabbed arm is so sore.   I do not know what or whom to believe anymore.  I am going to deeply kiss in public after the NYE fireworks at Sydney Harbour - then line up for a test, feel compassion for our overworked frontline workers and do not trust the texted message of my test results, which can be incorrect (refer to the news of how SydPath pathology at St Vincents Hospital, Darlinghurst, east Sydney, first provided incorrect negative results to 400 persons when they are really Covid positive).

I am going to take self responsibility.  I make my own health risk assessment in being mindful or careless about the whole matter.  I will relish fresh ventilation and see politics behind every public health pronouncement.  I will self manage by using my own intelligence.  I will not be a plaything of Big Pharma, control freaks and snake oil salesmen.

#yongkevthoughts

The Arrival of Omicron

With the arrival of another C19 mutation, Omicron, it looks like an increasing case of deja vu. Flight arrivals from the first hotspot nations are banned. There is a dearth of knowledge amongst experts, bureaucrats and politicians on how a new mutation will play out. Infections are confirmed amongst individuals who arrived from hotspot nations, but they arrived before any arrival bans. Such individuals had total freedom of movement when they visited what are now called exposure spots in the local community, before feeling unwell and testing positive. Will there be breaches at the control points of disembarkation and quarantine accommodation? Citizens and PRs of destination countries, coming from hotspot nations, are isolated for 14 days after arrival, but we are no longer told where exactly they are quarantined. The word "hotels" is no longer mentioned. The playbook in response by authorities looks amazingly familiar. After two years, there are seemingly no new ideas, except perhaps to take comfort in a high population percentage who have offered to be jabbed seemingly three times within 12 months. The first reaction upon hearing the arrival of Omicron is to promote booster shots. The difference this time, is significantly, that most nations tell their denizens that they have to live with the Coronavirus, so that the economy can bounce back. Even when air travel is opened up more than ever, the range of process just to get on a commercial aircraft to a foreign destination and return to the home country - testing, insurance and more - can be a most inconvenient one. The biggest challenge to us as individuals is the potential growth in uncertainty, just when our mindsets and expectations have moved to more certainty. Not again! is my first thought. Once the proverbial cockroach breaches our international border sentries, authorities have to decide whether the old regime of mass testing, varying levels of lockdowns, scanning QR codes, face masking, ensuring social distancing, hospitalisations and the lot - are back in force, or do they have to come up with more innovative approaches? Unsavoury authorities can still continue to hide behind the excuse of Omicron to implement more of their dark agendas - hopefully not. Are we facing a scenario of accepting more infections, downplaying specific risks, allowing more personal freedoms and deemphasising the collateral damage to society and individuals? The arrival of Omicron and the intent of many governments to want us to learn to live with Delta and any future mutations, now dovetails to a critical stage. Not enough is known about Omicron today, so will it fizzle out to nothing or will it step up the complexity for us and our rulers? #yongkevthoughts

October 2021 - Singapore Embraces Covid

 

In transition between different and significant approaches in managing Covid, Singapore is at the cross roads. The journey so far for Europe is swinging from lockdowns to freedom and now back to lockdowns. No economy can endure lockdowns on and off, especially for one like Singapore, but the question is "at what price?". Here are key quotes from a televised address by the Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien-loong, to his nation on 3 October 2021. "Singapore cannot stay locked down indefinitely." "We are shifting to home recovery" "No more complicated flow charts." "Knowing what to do makes Covid not a scary disease." "Sooner or later, everyone of us will meet the virus." "Keeping connected to supply chains will help ensure Singapore's hub status." "We must ensure for Singapore's health systen and health workers, which is our last line of defence." "We must be our nation's first line of defence, to help protect our health system." "We may yet have to tap on the brakes, in order not to free up too fast." "How will we know when we have arrived at the New Normal?"

We Need Less Uncertainty and More Proactive Action

What each of us, and our society, business and mental health needs most of all, is more certainty - all across the world. The way public health and epidemic control, in the past 2 years or so, has been handled can be abrupt, heavy handed and with lack of adequate communication with all stakeholders. Authorities swing their power to impose measures, likely using fear as an unnecessary tool or having unrevealed agendas behind the methods or plans utilised. Delta is not to be underestimated, but at the same time, it must not be manipulated for other purposes. Politicians and "the science" may have to work in a kind of knowledge vacuum, but that does not mean always taking a stare down approach. The public deserves more sincerity from our elected officials, who cannot just issue cherry picked information, but should be more open on what challenges there are in unknowns. Beware, in whatever pathway is offered, it is prudent to have a back up plan. The jarring way in which the powers that be, seem to react, instead of better planning ahead for more than one option, can be concerning. Delta, the varying performance of vaccinations, the lack of capability for the worst scenario....they can throw huge spanners in the works. Our authorities also need to take more heed of how Delta - and new mutated strains - can still create havoc, despite a city having high rates of vaccination roll out. There seems to be less open discussion about vaccinations than Covid itself. We need not repeat mistakes of others - cities and nations can learn from each other. There is often a lack of resources, staffing and infrastructure available, when not planning ahead for a variety of scenarios and outcomes. With an epidemic, what learned institutions, sitting politicians and quoted modeling say may not eventuate. Another risk is that political priorities, in any country or society put under the cloud of Delta, can still be more important than the application of common sense. The other huge concern is that in whatever pathway we are offered, government tends to pronounce broad strokes, without paying enough attention to implementation details - and keep allowing exemptions to what they want us to comply with. And the other often unsaid danger is to hype up the expectations of voters, without realistic outcomes. How many times have we been promised more travel bubbles, urged to pay for airline tickets months in advance and told to book for holidays?

Questions Remaining re Covid management by Authorities

After around 2 years of Covid, there can be nothing like prevention at first level by face masking, minimising hanging out at places with poor ventilation and exercising more of our personal intelligence and mindfulness.

Vaccinations are at best defensive measures after viral invasions get out of control. They are said to sustain a high level of antibodies in our physical make up to fight Covid.

The world's populations have already worn face masks during the Spanish flu, SARs, plagues etc. Covid vaccinations can still be immature in their development - the rate at which authorities push such vaccinations, even if kosher, can be alarming. Successful vaccinations we take in the past are usually annually taken, not so often within a year.

Emphasis on producing anti viral medicine for Covid seems to be at a lesser pace.

There is also a lack of focus on the usefulness of our memory T cells in our own bodies to naturally fight Covid.

Every excuse can be given by authorities across the world on the varying performance of current Covid vaccinations. These are my observations, but I do not know what stand to take anymore.

China still takes more of an elimination stand against Covid, while at the same time achieving high vaccination rates. Western societies have hyped up the protective powers of vaccinations as the reason for opening up the economy and loosening movement restrictions - and yet cases are significantly spiking again across Europe. India has not achieved the high rates of vaccinations touted as manna by many governments - and yet has not suffered as many infections per capita of population.

Several societies have been told that Covid, in whatever form, Delta strain or other mutants, must now be embraced as endemic - we are encouraged to live with it. Then why are bureaucrats still counting and reporting new daily cases of Covid?

If the common flu is accepted as endemic, we do not get such scrutiny of infection numbers for this viral spread.

Yet intense testing regimes for endemic Covid are carried out on international air travellers - and close contacts of confirmed infectees at exposure sites are required to isolate.

When various types of Covid vaccinations do not deliver what is promised as outcomes, the onus of responsibility is often pushed to the populace - we did not have our booster shots, we have various underlying health conditions, we are vaccine hesitant, new infections are affecting the unvaccinated, etc.

Very rare are the Big Pharmas questioned in mainstream media and by governments about the performance of vaccinations and the viability of their official testing data.

The Second Year of Covid

27 July 2021. From what I discern as consistent patterns in the behaviour of leading governments around the world, 18 months after this c19 breakout, the following highlights my significant concerns. 1.  Increasing emphasis on vaccinations as the only way out, together with regular booster shots. 2.   No significant efforts to invest more in public health systems. 3.   Increasing movement restrictions on the masses, with the consistent message that we have to exchange being inoculated to have access to what are essentially our human rights. 4.  The relative silence of the Big Pharmas, which tend to have politicians speaking implicitly for them. 5.   The consistent mantra from governments that they follow the science and medical advice, when in many cases that does not sound so convincing anymore. 6.    The mixed messaging from authorities on many fronts in fighting this c19, but not for consistent support for vaccinations and a loud silence on the progress in developing direct medical treatments for c19. 7.    The use of vaccinations as an economic commodity. 8.    The branding, politicisation and consequent  divisiveness resulting from use of vaccinations for the masses. 9.   Not reminding us that every c19 vaccine is approved under provisional and emergency conditions. 10.  The pattern of emerging c19 strains that are more infectious and the fact that vaccinated people can still be infected with them - with the accompanying message that personal hygiene measures from 2020 are no longer enough. #yongkevthoughts

PAIN as attitude

Many significant matters in our personal lives, and that of the world, seem and are at the same time put on hold, as if in a freeze-frame of photography - as media, politicians and commercial medical providers overcrowd our attention to a virus we cannot even see. And in the rising din, underlying panic and ever changing positions generated by various parties in this on going circus, of how to best manage this c19, it seems to me that things can just be plucked from the air and covert intentions not fully disclosed to the public. There can be too much talk and too little meaningful action which brings results. Politicians change their directions increasingly to serve their survival, rather than the health of their voters. Medical bureaucrats can be under unstated pressure by the powers that employ them. There are increased concerns in the militarisation of the public management of this Coronavirus. The connundrum between choosing lockdowns or vaccinations is the latest dilemna faced by governments. Are vaccinations encouraged with creating a false positive sentiment as elections draw near? Why has there been no progress and communication by Big Pharmas in developing a treatment for c19? Canberra has made serious mistakes in over depending on only two types of vaccines - and looks like only going to over rely on Messenger RNa vaccines in the future. Several nations are beginning to stare c19 in the face, as they cannot maintain a zero tolerance approach in snuffing out c19. Movement restriction, if continued for too long, is increasingly impractical. Individually, each of us has to grab the proverbial bull by the horn and tame the beast . For around 18 months, no reassuring results have been achieved by those who rule us - if this was a Board and senior executive of a listed conpany, they all would been sacked at an extraordinary General Meeting. How I cope is to follow and implement the four principles of self preservation and personal development. P - Presence of positive spirit and mind is always good to be conscious of and practice. A - Agendas, good and bad, are to be discerned between the lines, exhortations and varying policies we are put up with. I - Intelligence, not Inoculations, is the primary tool we possess to counter this Delta spread. N - Negativity is to be avoided, so that we can maintain our own clarity and purpose in our journey amidst distractions, deflections and devastation. Oscar Wilde is reputedly quoted with " Suffering is nothing, when there is love." The suffering imposed on each of us, in this challenging time, is not accompanied with sufficient empathy, humaneness nor concern by the people and organisations we put in power to take care of us. So I say, "Suffering is nothing, especially when we just take more care of ourselves." And I am no Oscar Wilde. #yongkevthoughts

My Non-Favourite Things

Sydney Lockdown 2.0 -  Day 32 Inspired by My Favourite Things, from The Sound of Music. "Raindrops on face masks, Saliva on my face shield, Getting taken to task, Having a gluey sanitising feel, Brown paper packages just left without a ring, These are a few of my not fav things! Luke warm coffee and sodgy apple strudels, And only takeaway for noodles, Looking at the moon and not flying on my wings, These are a few of my non-fav things! Keeping my distance with marked blue sashes, Aerosols that stay on my nose and eyelashes, Pointing over codes that melt into check-ins, These are a few of my non-fav things! When the Delta bites, When the bee stings, When I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my really fav things, And then I don't feel so bad!" #yongkevthoughts

Musings in the Time of Covid

The screws tighten, Are we frightened? Our spirits are more than dampened, as confusion becomes more rampant. The hidden enemy jumps, seems to be doing a dump, after coming in, and then some, at us it fiddles more than its thump. Instead of being inspired, we are cajoled, with many things soon to expire. What is the truth between the changing flames of fire, This is what we most desire. Why was danger allowed to roam, before they wrecked us inside the home. Why only react and respond, when the ability to prevent was not gone? How were the lessons not learnt, as the same patterns of omit, breach and damage repeat? Hijacked agendas, lack of detail and hidden themes not discerned, False confidence turning out to be the harbinger of defeat. Winners write the books, A Blame Game tries to put players off the hook. Common folk get kicked in the foot, whilst the blessed few get to keep the loot. Under the pressure of restraint and constraint, we are asked to behave and do as we are told. Whose interests are we asked to help maintain, at least in war, we can be more sure of whom and what to hold. When will this nightmare end, as we sit in our bunkers for endless nights unplanned. Will the promised manna be truly godsent, to relieve us from uncertainty just around the bend? Reflecting on: The Fall of Singapore - 1942 The Rise of Delta - Sydney 2021. #yongkevthoughts

Eighteen Months On

6 July 2021 - 11am. The USA Government has not reached its planned c19 related vaccination targets set by President Biden. On the 245 th anniversary of its founding, Stateside had undergone a tumultous year of continued racial divisions, a widespread Coronavirus affliction, political drama and reaffirmed some values and approaches in how it interacts with the rest of the world. Australia as a Federation has reached its 120th year.  Most of its population resides in its south-eastern corner.  The continental island can be as wide as mainland USA, but only has 7.8 percent of the American population. Vaccination, rightly or wrongly, has been emphasised by both Governments to manage the never ending spread of c19.  Canberra is however way behind its vaccination targets and continues to offer an ever changing scenario in this space. Sydney still grapples with a resurgence in c19 local transmission infections.  Although relatively small in numbers, this new outbreak starting at Bondi is said to be dealing with a more infectious mutant strain. The public may not have been fully informed about the severity, or lack of severity, of symptoms of those who tested positive with mostly the Delta strain, although a few hospitalisations or ICU admissions have occured amongst the so far accumulated 330 identified cases in Greater Sydney since 16 June. Melbourne and regional Victoria managed to come out from its fourth c19 related lockdown in June, after a leakage from a returned overseas passenger who was infected in an Adelaide quarantine hotel. By the middle of 2021, Australia has had its international borders mainly closed for around 16 months. In the same period, the character of the Commonwealth has been underlined by the lack of available workers for low paid jobs across several fronts, the shutting out of international students, the intensity of disagreements between state governments and Canberra, the best agricultural output yet in as many years and the smashing of conventions about inner city life. As many as perhaps a third of the workers at the Summitcare Aged Care facility in the north western Sydney suburb of Baulkham Hills were reported as not yet been vaccinated. The focus on this matter came about after five aged care residents at this facility were tested positive with Delta after being infected originally by a staff member. Is there vaccination  hesitancy amongst aged care sector workers, due to lack of confidence in the only available two brands -  or is it more of the risks of personal loss of earnings if they suffer post vaccination side effects?   There is also a real fear by employers at aged care facilities in Australia that they may find a drought in staff availability, if they are all required to be vaccinated.  This can be a chicken and egg scenario that illustrates the bungled roll out of c19 vaccines in Australia, despite the Canberra bubble and state governments touting vaccinations as the manna from heaven in this presumed epidemic. Canberra has so far stumbled on implementation, revised opinions and continued their mixed messaging in this vaccination process for the public.   Their other key tasks in this age of c19 has been to manage our international borders,  help the states quarantine the continuing flow of overseas arrivals at capital city airports and have its medical bureaucrats make pronouncements on how to handle c19. Governments of the Australian states and territories, in varying behaviour, have shown how aggressively independent they can be.  This may not be a negative development, especially in their dealings with Canberra.  Observers can note the divisions arising from political party alignments; the different risk tolerance taken in public health management ( reflect on the different appraches, say between Western Australia and NSW); the frequent use of state border closures, with little time notifications given; and the outcomes for states and territories, bearing the brunt and consequences of poor logistics, lack of attention to detail and many broad and generalised announcements from Canberra. NSW has always had the state government being very consistent in one particular restriction, when any c19 cluster hits Sydney - no singing, no dancing.  At times, outsiders can mistakenly  perceive NSW as one mass school of the performing arts.  Policy changes  by the NSW State Government, since March 2020, have otherwise varied on the usefulness of wearing face masks, the inclusion or exclusion of areas outside Sydney proper as " Greater Sydney", the timing of introducing lockdowns and providing various details or omitted information about daily confirmed positives. Where NSW has been perhaps the most liberal in the current Sydney lockdown, compared to other states,  experts have pointed out the absence of a ceiling in km for travel restriction; the variety of retail outlets that can still open during a so called lockdown; the requirement of face masking only indoors; and  the lack of better controls on vulnerable sectors like medical hubs, aged care homes and shopping clusters. And the children!   This demographic has been paid least attention, until the recent focus on pushing more extensive vaccination rates throughout communities.  Will this help achieve the supposed benefits of reaching herd immunity, or is there another unspoken agenda?  Schools in the Bondi area have reported Delta infections in children. The lack of compliance with common sense social distancing can be a distinct feature of human behaviour in Sydney, since the Bondi cluster was reported on 16 June.  The love of the outdoors by fellow Aussies, on the other hand,can be a good habit in reducing the risks of catching c19, as proper ventilation always helps. Ventilation can be reduced in flow and quality inside crowded indoor venues.  Delta case infections have been confirmed from parties in inner city Waterloo and suburban West Hoxton, having  a meal in Paddington  and taking a domestic flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney. The current Delta strain pattern of infection cases can seem to be deja vu for Sydney - overseas arrivals as the source, household contact cases, workers unintentionally affecting hospitals and aged care homes, infection clusters are detected at work places, people getting infected eating at indoor venues and infectees with no symptoms allowed to travel far from home. There can be increasing reluctance to affect the economy after so many months of c19. A lockdown does not only curtail physical movement for individuals, but it also can negatively affect turnover in sales and revenues for business models still using physical stores. The NSW state Government seems to rely on ever changing daily case numbers to make decisions.  These can range from infections picked up from testing,  a listing of exposure spots, active cases remaining, number of cases linked, number of infectees moving about in the community while still being infectious and number of new reported cases who have already been isolating at home, etc. Covid  has been more than a field day for statisticians!  To me, perhaps the most significant to watch for is the growth or reduction in the list of exposure sites. This tells me whether the Delta is still moving ahead of historical contact tracing. #yongkevthoughts